To Be Continued
Judith Antelman
Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest 2020 (view all the winners)
Honorable Mention, Margaret Reid, Traditional Verse
On my Iranian passport, it reads
I cannot go to the Occupied Lands.
Maybe that's why Rumi wrote
"The wound is the place where the light enters you."
I cannot go to the Occupied Lands
because desert light distorts the horizon and
"The wound is the place where the light enters you."
I lose my way in a desert
because desert light distorts the horizon and
I dream I visit my mother in Tehran.
I lose my way in a desert.
Define history.
I dream I visit my mother in Tehran
and forgive the Guard who jailed my father.
Define history.
I share espresso and kebab with a stranger
and forgive the Guard who jailed my father.
Define peace.
I share espresso and kebab with a stranger
and we watch the sun set over the Dead Sea.
Define peace.
The distance between landmines and laughter as
we watch the sun set over the Dead Sea.
On my Iranian passport, it reads
